Photographic print drier



Oct. 27, 1936. C, 1 -HUGHEY PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT DRIER Filed Feb. 13, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 1l\\ (L r L ,f m ,N L ff L f L ,f L r L L L L n L f L r L f L f L r L r L f L f L f L fr L. f L f. L f L f L f .L f. L f L f L L r L f L f L f L f L. ff L f L f L r L L L U L r L f L f L p L f L umn L, L mun m ww w. Q

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Oct. 27, 1936. J, HUGHY '2,058,457

PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT DRIER Filed Feb. 13. 1935 :s sheets-sheet s Patented Oct. 27, l1936 j UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINT DRIER Carter J. Hughey, Rochester, N. Y., assignor, by

mcsne assignments, to Eastman Kodak' Company, Jersey City, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 13, 1935, serial No. 6,350 s Claims. (o1. :i4- 26) This invention relates to driers, particularly and since the sensitizedl side of the print lies for use in drying photographic prints. One obagainst the convex wall of the separators or the ject of my invention is to provide a drier which linen covering thereof, the prints are bent and can be quickly and easily operated and which dried in such a position that theyfcwill tend to 5 is adapted to receive prints in stacks for drying. lie at. 'e

Another object of my invention `is to provide a On section 4 of the cabinet, handles I3 are drier with an air-circulating system which can provided to facilitate swinging this section on be readily adjusted to efli'ciently dry varying the hinge 5 until the top I4 rests on the top I5 numbers of prints. Another object of my inof section 3. The stack of prints, blotting pal0 vention is to provide an air-circulating system 11ers, and Sepffiralorsl can then be leid` 1113011 the l0 With air distributing plates which will increase Curved table-top 6 and Slid OWaId the ODDOSite the eciency of the drier. Still another object end of the machine until the stack strikes the of my invention is to provide a drying cabinet flanges 44 as shown in Fig. 5. with a slidable support for an air-circulating .Since the Size 0f the stack may Vary in 8C- casing so that th'e relation of the casing to the cordance withthe number of prints to be dried, 15

drying cabinet canbe altered at will, and other in order to eiliciently pass air over the desired obJects will appear from the following speciiicaarea, the fOllOWing Struetule iS P10Vided- Sec* tion, the novel features being particularly pointed tion 3 of the cabinet is provided with guide rails out in the claims at the end thereof, I6 shown on an enlarged scale in section in Fig. Coming now to the drawings wherein like ref- 4. 'I'hese guide rails are preferably spaced apart, 20

erence characters denote like parts throughout: as shown, to receive a ange II carried on the Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a drier constructed inner edges of a housing I8 which is open on that in accordance with and embodying a preferred side'which faces the cabinet I5and which is proform of my invention.' vided with an extension I9 in4 which a fan 20 is Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the drier shown mounted, there being a motor 2| carried by the 25 in Fig. 1. bracket 22. `Inside of the housing I8 there are Fig. 3 is an elevation from the opposite end of plates 23 which, aS ShOWIl in Fig. 3. are arranged the machine shown in Fig. 2. about a square opening 24 set atan angle to Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken `the end of the housing I8. Posts 25 may conon line 4-4 of Fig. 3. veniently support electric heating elements 26 30 Fig. 5 iS an enlarged fragmentary section which are suspended from the cross-bars 21 and showing the relation of the prints and print sep- Which may be connected 130 e Suitable Switch 23 arators. as shown in Fig. 3. Thus, air is blown by the As indicated in Fig. l, the drier may comprise fan so thatit will pass through the Open' end 0f a table-top I supported by legs 2 and carrying a, cabinet section I5 through the stack and out 35 cabinet composed of sections 3 and '4 which are through the Openings 29 in Section i4 0f the preferably hinged together at 5. As best shown Cabuei5- in Fig. 2, the table-top I is provided with a con- The 130D Wall 0f the hOuSing I8 is PIOVided With cave top wall 6, this wall being arranged to reasecond curvedwall 33 which conforms in curvaceive a stack of print separators, blotters, andV ture with the curved wall 6 of the table-top. 40 prints. This wall can be raised and lowered so that an Referring to Fig. 5, the prints P are laid prefextension thereofl 3| which extends inside of the erably face down on the linen sheets 1 with cabinet section I5 can be brought into contact blotters 8 lying against one side of the print and with or close to the stack carried by the tablewith'separators designated broadlyas 9 lying top. Thus, as illustrated in Fig.5;'when the 45 between the prints. The separators may be made stack does not Completely fill the drying Cabinet. of corrugated board which includes the sheets Ill the housing I 8 may be slid downwardly upon and I I separated by the corrugated wall I 2. the rails I6 until the plate 30` lies close to the These separators and blotting paper are known uppermost sheet of the stack.

5o to the trade and are used for drying because air In order to accomplish this movement, at least 50 can be circulated through and between the prints one rail I6 is provided with a series of perforaheld by these members. The advantage of havtions 34' preferably formed in raised anges 35 ing the curved wall 6 is Athat the stack of prints, formed in the rails I6. As indicated in Fig. 4, separators, and blotters lwill all be held in a the housing I8 may be heldin the desired posicurved condition while'th prints are being dried, tion by means of a latch 36 which is merely a 55 plunger pressed by a spring 31 towards the apertures Il and having a handle Il by which the plunger may be removed from these apertures.

After loading the table-top 6 with the desired number of prints, separators, and blotting papers, the plungers 38 are withdrawn and the housing I8 is slid downwardly until the plate 30 lies close to the uppermost sheet of the stack. This will automatically cause all of the air blown through the housing Il by the fan 20 to pass through the stack which is actually being used and none of the air will pass idly over the top of the stack, as would be the case if the housing Il 'was flxedly attached'to the cabinet section I5. Thus, if only half of the capacity of the drier is in use, the housing I8 could be slid down from the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 3 until the fan was centered on the stack actually being used. l

The operation of this print drier is extremely simple. Cabinet section Il is swung about the hinged pintle 5 in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 1 until the top Il rests on the top Il. 'The operator then places the separators, prints, and blotting papers on the curved tabletop t until the machine is completely loaded. Cabinet section i4 is then swungA down to its operative position shown in Fig. 2 and the plungers il Aare withdrawn from apertures 34 and the housing I8 may be moved upon the rails I6 until the curved top wall 30 approaches the top of the stack held by the table. The plungers then are permitted to enter the nearest apertures to hold the housing Il in the set position and the motor is started. If it is necessary to dry the `prints quicmy, the switch 2| can be moved to cause the heating elements 28 to function so that warm air may be blown between the separators and dry the prints.

After the prints have been dried, section Il can again be swung on its hinge t to open the cabinet for the removal of the dried prints.

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and. desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a photographic print drier, the combination with a cabinet adapted to hold stacks of prints in spaced relation, a s1ideway-on the cabinet, a casing mounted to move in the slideway, means to hold the casing in-a set position, a blower in the casing and means carried'by the casing for directing air through a restricted area of the drying cabinet, said means including a baille plate, aiiange on the plate adapted to project over the stack of `prints carried by the cabinet whereby air may be directed to the area of the cabinet in use.

2. In a'photographicv print drier, the combination with a cabinet including a table-top, .of a casing enclosing the table-top and including top,

-side and end walls, said casing being divided into two sections each including a portion of the top, side and end walls and hinged together on the top wall, one section being permanently attached to the table and the other being adapted to move on the hinge to expose a relatively large area of the table for loading stacks of prints on the table-top, and means including a blower movably carried by the xed casing section for directing air over only that area of the cabinet filled with stacks of prints.

3. In a photographic print drier, the combination with a cabinet including a table-top, of a casing enclosing the table-top and including top, side and end walls, said casing being divided into two sections each including a portion of the top, side and end walls and hinged together on the top wall, one section being permanently attached to the table and the other being adapted to move on the hinge to elpose a relatively large area of the table for loading stacks of prints on the table-top, and means including a blower at least partially enclosed in a separate casing slidably mounted on the ilxed section for directing air to a predetermined area of the drier.

4. In a photographic print drier, the combination with a cabinet including a table-top, of a casing enclosing the table-top, said casing being divided into two sections hinged together, one section being permanently attached to the table and theother being adapted to move on the hinge to expose a relatively large area of the table for loading stacks of prints on the tabletop, and means including a blower at least partially enclosed in a separate casing, a vertical slideway on the nxed section engaged by the motor casing whereby air may be directed from the fan to the vertical area of the drier actually in use.

5. In a photographic print drier, the combination with a cabinet including a concave tabletop adapted to receive a stack of prints, blotters, and separators in concave stacks, of a casing adapted to enclose said table-top, an air exit at one end of the cabinet, an air entrance at the other end thereof, a support, a blower carried thereby for forcing air in the air entrance, and adjustable means for controlling the area of .the air entrance in accordance with the size of the stack of prints, blotters, and separators and including a curved flange adapted to be close to the curved top of the stack of prints, blotters, and separators.

6. In a photographic print drier, the combination with a cabinet including a concavel tabletop adapted to receive a stack of prints, blotters, and separators in concave stacks, of a casing adapted to enclose said table-top, an air exit at one end of the cabinet, an air entrance at the other end thereof, a support, a blower carried thereby for forcing air in the air entrance, and adjustable means foi controlling the area of the air entrance in accordance with the size of the stack .of prints, blotters, and separators and including a curved flange adapted to be close to the curved top of the stack of prints, blotters, and separators, and spring latch elements carried by the blower support and fixed casing for holding the former in a set position.

CARTER J. HUGHEY. 

